


I Don't Know What I Expected (But It Wasn't This)

by GleekPlusDirectioner



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Secret agent!Liam, innocent!niall, secret agent!louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-02-24 20:36:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2595623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleekPlusDirectioner/pseuds/GleekPlusDirectioner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Agents Payne and Tomlinson are sent on a highly important mission at very short notice. There is a boy they must protect at all costs, as he's carrying vital information that their boss NEEDS.<br/>But protecting this boy and keeping his job may be mutually exclusive for Agent Payne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story from Tumblr that I'm transferring here. Don't be alarmed if you find it on Tumblr under the URL directionerplusgleek. That is me :)
> 
> But if you find it anywhere other than here or my Tumblr, please let me know.

"What d’you think he wants us for?" Louis asked Liam in a hushed voice as they headed down the long corridor of their temporary base in France.

"No clue," Liam replied in a similar tone. "We usually get a week’s warning, so maybe someone pulled out of something?" He hitched his pack up on his shoulder, patting his belt quickly to make sure he had everything.

"He sounded kinda skittish on the phone," Louis noted, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Like it was real important that we could do this."

"Of course we can," Liam shrugged as they stopped at the end of the hall. "Remember; calm and collected. He’s freaked out enough as it is." With a nod from Louis, Liam opened the door to a small but official-looking room.

"Tomlinson, Payne." A short man with cropped hair and a thin moustache waved them over to his desk, which he was sitting behind and drumming his fingers against.

"Sir," both young men acknowledged politely, standing in front of the desk.

"I need you two to get down to the Matron Chateau pronto. There’s a boy there, doesn’t look anything special, but he’s been given information that we _need_  to get. He was chosen because he’s nondescript, but we’re worried someone’s onto him.” The short man was wringing his hands nervously, eyes flicking quickly between Louis and Liam. “Tomlinson, you need to track down this bloke and make sure he doesn’t get his hands on our information.” He handed Louis a photo of a bald, bulky man with squinty eyes.

"Jeez, stereotypical, isn’t he?" Louis half-laughed.

Ignoring Louis’ attempt at humour, the man continued, “And Payne, you need to find him and bring him back here.”

Liam accepted the photograph his boss handed him, taking in the slightly grainy image of quite a pretty-looking blonde boy. “Yes, sir.”

"Franks is waiting outside for you and your disguises are in the car, now go!" The man started shuffling papers on his desk, Louis and Liam sharing a worried glance before hurrying towards the exit.

"I think ‘skittish’ was a bit of an understatement, Lou," Liam observed as the two jogged out of the building and towards their waiting shiny back car.

Slipping into the back seat, Louis snorted. “He didn’t sound  _that_  bad.”

Liam closed the car door and knocked on the partition as he signal for the driver to go. He rummaged through the bag on the seat beside him containing his disguise. “Suit and tie? Fuck me, does he realise how hard it is to move in this stuff?” Liam complained, pulling his white shirt on over his regular tight-fitting vest.

"Course not; he’s never left his comfy little office," Louis scoffed.

"Touché." Liam kicked off his boots, unbuckled his belt, and tugged off his cargo pants, replacing them with neat-looking suit trousers and shiny black evening shoes. "And these are gonna be a bitch to run in."

"You bet your arse they are," Louis sighed, buttoning up his shirt. "One day we’ll get a mission for sweats and T-shirts, you’ll see."

Liam snorted and slipped his pre-tied tie over his head. “Like hell.”

 

It took a good half hour before their car made it to the chateau, but they could tell they were arriving at the same time as everyone else. There were cameras flashing outside and laughter could be heard floating through the door whenever it opened to let the next guest inside.

The driver moved the partition and looked over his shoulder at the two men in the back seat. “Your invites are in the bags,” he explained. “Remember; don’t cause a fuss if you can avoid it. I’ll be waiting in the car park around the corner.”

"Ta, Franks," Louis nodded.

Turning back around, Franks drove them up to the red carpet leading to the doors of the chateau. Once they stepped out, Liam and Louis put on their work faces, acting like they completely belonged in this setting. They strolled towards the doors, handing their invitations to the doorman and entering the huge foyer of the chateau. “Bloody hell,” Louis whispered to himself, gazing around at the intricate carved panelling that trimmed the walls and ceilings.

Liam gave his partner a subtle nod, heading off through the guests to locate his target. He didn’t take long to find. The blonde boy was dressed in a dark navy suit and white shirt, and when he turned around, Liam could see his deep green tie. But he was far more distracted by his  _eyes_.

 _'Good God, I'm going to hell,_ ' Liam thought to himself, wanting nothing more than to grab this boy and stare into his eyes for hours.

And then probably kiss him a little bit. Or a lot.

 

Liam watched the boy from a distance for a while, smiling a little when he laughed at something the woman he was talking to said. He seemed quite the charmer, judging by the several pairs of heart-eyes directed towards him.

 _'So much for “nondescript”,'_  Liam thought with an internal roll of his eyes.

"Attention please, ladies and gentlemen." A tall, thin woman with dainty features stood beside a grand piano on a raised platform, a wall of windows backing her. "I thank you all so much for coming along tonight. I do apologise for my husband’s absence, however he sends his kindest regards to all. Please feel free to ask any of the staff for refreshments of any sort, and do enjoy the evening."

The night sky behind the windows was suddenly lit by a bright light, then the glass exploded into the room as a large black SUV burst through them. There were screams of terror, but Liam’s brain jumped into action. Eyes finding his target, he ran for him in the mess of people and grabbed him, covering the boy’s mouth before he could yell out. “Stay quiet, I have to get you out of here,” he whispered quickly in the blonde’s ear.

Horror-filled eyes met Liam’s, the boy nodding twice before he was dragged towards the exit. Liam scanned the rooms for Louis, but knew his first priority was this boy.

The front doors to the chateau were thrown open, Liam dragging his charge down a short hallway and yanking him around a corner. He glanced around the room, quickly noticing it was a kitchen. There was an external door, but lights were coming towards it at a rapid pace. Spotting a door, Liam pulled his charge over to it and very nearly threw him through it, cramming into what appeared to be a pantry with the boy and closing the door.

Through the slats in the door, Liam could see the lights approaching still, then the external door was smashed open and a string of five armed men stormed through the room. They waved their torches about, checking for signs of life, before hurrying down the hallway towards the main gathering.

Liam turned to the blonde boy and grabbed his face so he could look him in the eyes. “I need to get you out safely. You do everything I tell you; exactly what I say. You need to trust me completely if you want to get out of this alive.”

"I don’t even know your name," the blonde whispered shakily in his sweet Irish accent.

"Agent Payne." Surveying the kitchen through the door slats, Liam pulled his pistol from the belt under his shirt, then peeked the pantry door open. He wrapped his arm around the boy’s waist and held him tightly against his side, hurrying across the room to the external door. Carefully checking outside the door, he pulled his head back in when he saw two guards.

 _'Noise would be counter-productive.'_  Holstering his gun, Liam grabbed a large knife from the bench close by. He let go of his charge and made a very stern motion of ‘stay put’. The boy nodded once, his eyes terror-filled and hands shaking uncontrollably.

Taking a deep breath, Liam threw himself around the corner, swinging his arm at one guard and slicing his neck open. Before the second guard had the time to react, Liam had swung back around and jammed the knife into his gut, shoving and twisting before letting the utensil go and leaving the man to drop to the ground.

"Come on," he ordered, sharply but quietly.

The blonde boy stepped through the door and even in the dim lighting, his face visibly paled. “Shit…”

"Come  _on_ ,” Liam insisted, grabbing the boy’s upper arm and pulling him towards the car park. They ducked behind the nearest car, taking a moment to collect themselves again. “You need to stay right behind me, got it? If I tell you to drop, lay as flat as you can on the ground.”

"O-okay-"

"Good." Liam peeked around the car, trying to locate Franks and their vehicle. There were more men tromping through the car park, all carrying guns and wearing black clothes and heavy army boots. The troupe passed them by, organising themselves around the chateau.

"What’s going on-?"

Liam clapped a hand over his charge’s mouth. “Silent,” he hissed. With another check of the area, Liam located the car. He quickly and quietly ducked with the blonde over to their ride and piled them in as silently as he could. “Franks, go.”

There was a long silence and nothing seemed to happen. Liam frowned.

"Franks, we need out of here,  _now_.” Pushing the partition out of the way, Liam’s eyes widened when he saw the windscreen was shattered and Franks was slumped in his seat, several bullet holes in his head and chest.

"Oh my God…" The blonde boy was shaking in terror now, his face white as a sheet. "God, I’m gonna be sick…"

"Shit," Liam whispered. He instantly started planning out their next move in his head. "We’ve gotta get out of here still. You stay right there," he instructed.

"Wait, where are you going?" the boy panicked when Liam opened the car door.

"Front seat, relax." Liam hopped out and opened the driver’s side door. He shifted Franks’ body out onto the ground, sparing him one last regretful look before taking the driver’s seat.

"Where are we going?" the blonde asked nervously from the back.

"Away from here," Liam replied. "I need you to lie flat on the floor, got it?"

The blonde nodded and did as he was told, cramming his body in between the front and back seats.

"You need to stay down," Liam continued, pulling off his suit jacket and grabbing a bulletproof vest from under the front passenger seat. "No matter what, I have to get you away from here." Clipping up the vest, Liam grabbed hold of the key in the ignition. "Brace yourself. One… two… three!" Liam quickly brought he engine to life and shot the car in reverse. There was the sudden sound of guns shots as Liam threw the car into drive and tore through the car park, the tyres screeching as they skidded around onto the road and took off.

"Have we lost them?" came a timid Irish voice from the back of the car, just before more gun shots ripped through the night.

"Nowhere near," Liam muttered. "Stay down." Squealing tires alerted Liam of a chasing vehicle, which seemed to be another black SUV from the brief glance he took in the rear-vision mirror. "Shit." He yanked on the steering wheel to swerve them down a road to the right, then one to the left as fast as he could.

They approached a highway, which Liam was quick to shoot across and continue along the regular roads.

"Hopefully they’ll’ve gone along the highway," he told his passenger. "I’m going to head as far out of town as I can so if they’re still following us, there’s less of a chance for them to injure any innocent bystanders."

"O-ok-kay-y."

Liam quickly glanced over his shoulder at the blonde, who had tears streaming down his face. “Hang in there, mate, you’re gonna be fine.” Cringing slightly when he heard a sob from the back, Liam asked, “What’s your name?”

"N-Niall-ll. N-iall H-Ho-ran."

"Niall Horan?" Liam checked.

"Y-yes." Niall sniffed hard, hiccupping and burying his face in his hands.

"You’re gonna be alright, Niall. I think we lost them, but stay down just in case, alright?"

"A-alr-right," Niall stammered with his wavering, teary voice.

Liam reached a hand back to the blonde, waiting a moment before Niall took it and clamped it tightly in his own hand. “I’ve got you,” Liam assured him, squeezing back and focussing on the road as he drove with just his right hand.


	2. Chapter 2

After driving for nearly an hour, Liam pulled the car over into the middle of a field. He turned the engine off and looked back at Niall, who was still clinging to his hand but had calmed down a bit. “Hop up,” he whispered, tugging gently on Niall’s hand.

"Where are we?"

"Nowhere in particular," Liam replied. "But we need to get rid of this car. This one’s too easily recognisable, what with the hole in the windscreen." He popped his door open and let go of Niall so they could both climb out, grabbing two backpacks from the boot of the car before handing one to the blonde. He grabbed a lighter from his pocket and lit it up, tossing it onto the back seat.

"What’re you doing?" Niall asked quietly, pulling the pack onto his back and standing close to Liam.

"Eliminating evidence they can track us with." Once the fabric of the back seat caught fire, Liam grabbed Niall’s hand and led him across the field towards some trees, slinging his own backpack over his shoulder.

"Is this what your job’s normally like?" Niall whispered, clinging onto Liam’s arm with his free hand.

"At times."

As they reached the trees, Niall asked, “Where are we going?”

"This way," Liam pointed through the trees. "I can see lights." They had barely made it ten steps into the trees before there was a ground-shaking BOOM that had Niall clinging to Liam for dear life. "It’s just the car," Liam assured him calmly, wrapping an arm around Niall’s waist and leading him on. "The flames reached the fuel tank."

The two soon emerged from the trees into a motel car park. Looking around, Niall asked, “Are we gonna stay here?”

"No, we just need another vehicle," Liam informed him. Glancing about surreptitiously, he grasped something on the belt under his shirt, quickly popping the lock of one of the parked cars with it and slipping into the driver’s seat. "Get in," he hissed to Niall, who hurried into the front passenger seat.

"Isn’t this illegal?" Niall asked worriedly as Liam chucked his bag in the back and started the car with his gadget.

"It’s not what most people would call legal," Liam replied smoothly as he reversed and pulled he car onto the road before continuing in the direction they had been before.

Niall shook his head slowly. “Who are you?”

"Agent Payne," Liam replied. "I work for the British Secret Service."

"What are you doing in France?"

"My job," Liam responded distractedly as he turned down a street off the main road. "And I could ask you the same question, Irishman."

Niall was silent for a moment, then muttered, “I don’t know.” Looking to Liam again, he asked, “Why did you save me? Of all the people in that room, why me?”

Frowning, Liam answered, “I was instructed to make sure you were safe because you’re carrying vital information.”

"I am?" Niall asked, sounding surprised.

Liam took a moment to process this in his head. “What? What were you doing at the Matron Chateau if you weren’t there to…?” Liam’s question trailed off when something occurred to him. “Why were you there, Niall?” he asked quietly.

"I took my mum’s place because she couldn’t get there. Maura Gallagher?"

"Maura Gallagher…" Liam resisted the urge to close his eyes as he sighed deeply. "Right." He drove them into a small town, keeping his eyes on the road.

"What’s so bad about that?" Niall asked in confusion.

"What does your mother do for a living, Niall?"

"She… she trades fine furniture," Niall replied. "What’s that got to do with anything?"

"She doesn’t," was all Liam replied, a note of finality in his voice stating that the conversation was over. "Is there a phone in here anywhere?"

Trying not to think about the previous conversation, Niall dug around in the glove box and handed a mobile phone to Liam. “Here.”

Liam dialled a number without looking, holding the phone to his ear. “Payne?” his boss’ voice asked through the speaker.

"Yes, sir. I have him."

"And the information?"

Liam paused for a moment. “Sir, he’s Maura Gallagher’s boy.”

"Oh, good," his boss sighed in relief. "Get him here so we can extract the information."

Liam’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “I’m not sure where we are, sir, that may take some time,” he informed the man, his face set in a cold glare but his voice remaining fairly calm.

"Quick as you can, Payne."

"Yes, sir," Liam muttered, hanging up. He cracked the phone screen hard against the steering wheel, then tossed it to Niall. "Pull the SIM out."

Niall slowly did as he was asked as Liam continued to drive one-handed and grabbed another gadget off his belt. “What-?”

"Hold the end of that to the metal contact," Liam instructed as he handed the pen-shaped device to Niall. "Then press the button on the end."

Doing as he was told, Niall jumped when the gadget electrocuted the SIM card, frying it completely. “O-kay…”

"Now chuck the phone and SIM out the window," Liam concluded, unclipping his bulletproof vest with his free hand and pulling it over his head. "And put that on."

Tossing the phone and SIM card out into the grass at the side of the road, Niall took the vest and pulled it on, clipping it up the way he had seen Liam do. “Done.”

"I have to get you to base, but I don’t know where we are. If I could find an airport or train station or something, I might be able to work out our position." He glanced to Niall, who looked tiny in the bulky vest. Liam bit his tongue in an attempt to hide his smile, turning back to the road.

"What’s your name?" Niall asked after a short silence.

"Agent Pa-"

"No, your first name," Niall cut in.

Liam paused for a moment, but the look in Niall’s eyes, begging for someone to trust and rely on, made his mind up for him. “Liam.”

"Liam Payne," Niall said to himself, trying it out. With a nod, he thought about something else. "Liam, who’s after us?"

"An underground group. They started in Britain, but they’ve expanded to other parts of Europe and are focussed more prominently in France at the moment."

"What do they want?"

Liam sighed and turned them down another road and out of the town. “They disagree with the way governments are run. They believe the people should make decisions, so they’ve been targeting leaders all over Europe. You have some vital information regarding their future plans.”

"But I don’t," Niall frowned.

Reaching over, Liam placed a hand on Niall’s thigh and a squeezed gently. “You do, you just don’t know it,” he told him unusually softly.

"How do you mean?" Niall asked, tilting his head to one side.

Liam just shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"Liam?" Niall covered Liam’s hand on his thigh with his own. "Liam, is this bad?"

"That depends on how much your mother values your life," Liam replied coldly. "Why would you use your own child for something like this?" he muttered to himself.

"Like what?"

"Knowing full well what could happen," Liam continued crossly, harshly turning the car around yet another corner.

"What could happen?"

"It’s sadistic enough doing that to a completely stranger, why in God’s name would you use your own  _child_ -?”

"For what?!" Niall exploded. His eyes showed fear and frustration, his breathing heavy. "What? What’s been done to me?"

"I’ll tell you later-"

"No, tell me  _now_ ,” Niall demanded.

"Niall…" Sighing again, Liam told him quietly, "I’ll tell you when I’m not driving, okay?" He turned over his hand on Niall’s thigh, clasping the blonde’s hand tightly. "Okay?"

Niall considered this for a moment, then squeezed Liam’s hand. “Okay,” he conceded, staring out the windscreen at the road.

"Try to get some sleep, okay?" Liam suggested, attempting to retract his hand.

But Niall gripped onto his palm, refusing to let go. “I’ll try,” he muttered, sliding down in the seat a little and closing his eyes.

 

As the sun began to peek up over the horizon, Liam pulled the car over on the side of the road. He rubbed his eyes with both hands vigorously, trying to wake himself up.

"Tired?" Niall asked, scrubbing at his own eyes.

"I’ll be fine," Liam replied firmly, sitting up in his seat and grasping the steering wheel. "I just needed a moment." He started the car again and pulled back onto the road.

"D’you want me to drive for a bit?" Niall asked carefully.

"Are you even legal, yet?" Liam found himself retorting. His tiredness had caused a deterioration of his brain-to-mouth filter.

Niall looked genuinely insulted. “I’m nineteen,” he huffed, folding his arms. “I’ll be twenty in a month. And I’ve had my licence since I was eighteen, thank you very much.”

"Good for you," Liam muttered, internally face-palming once the words had left his mouth. "I’m sorry," he sighed, rubbing his left eye with one hand and driving with the other. "I’m just not-"

"Liam, look out!" Niall shrieked.

Liam was suddenly very awake and swerved harshly to the right, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a large truck but sending the car down a woody embankment. He could hear Niall screaming as his head collided with something hard and the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Liam’s head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool as he blearily opened his eyes. That didn’t last long, however, and was soon replaced by a heavy throbbing. “Fuck,” he mumbled, clutching his head. As his vision returned, he noticed his passenger. “Niall?”

The blonde was slumped forward in his seat, completely still.

"Niall!" Liam scrambled to unbuckle his seatbelt, lifting Niall’s head and holding it in both hands. "Niall, wake up, come on." He rubbed Niall’s cheekbone with his thumb, taking note of the cut and dried blood on his temple.

"Hmm…?" was the weak noise that left Niall’s throat.

"Open your eyes for me, Niall," Liam encouraged, not even trying to hide the desperation in his voice. "Come on, Niall."

Niall grumbled and slowly dragged his eyelids open. “Liam?” he croaked.

"Thank Christ," Liam sighed in relief, kissing Niall’s forehead and wrapping him in a hug. "Thank fucking Christ."

"Maybe you should’ve let me drive," Niall managed to mumble.

"I’m so sorry," Liam whispered. "Fuck, I could’ve got you killed."

Lamely lifting an arm to pat Liam’s back, Niall assured him, “S’okay. ‘M fine.”

"No, Niall, it’s not okay," Liam said seriously, pulling back to inspect the various cuts and scrapes Niall had sustained. "My job it to look after you. Could you imagine what my boss would say if I had to call him and tell him you were dead? And that it was my fault? I’d be out of the job, and I’d never be able to live with myself."

"Why? You’ve killed people before," Niall pointed out, rubbing his eyes.

"Because I didn’t care about them," Liam replied.

"You care about me?" Niall asked.

The two of them were silent, sharing a few little glances before darting their eyes away. “Yeah, I do,” Liam answered, attempting to sound confident and not doing a very good job of it.

Biting his lip, Niall took told of Liam’s face with both hands, nervously bringing their faces closer. Liam’s heart thumped loudly in his ears as he felt Niall’s breath against his lips. Swallowing, he turned his head to the side as the blonde moved in, Niall’s lips contacting with his cheek. He glanced to the boy, who looked down-heartened.

"Sorry," Niall whispered, backing away. "I-I just thought…" He lowered his eyes. "I guess not." Twisting his fingers together in his lap, Niall looked smaller than he had the whole time they had spent together.

Liam wanted to tell him it wasn’t that way at all, that he  _did_  want to kiss him, but his job and Niall’s safety came before his own desires. “Let’s go,” he said softly, turning to his door and unbuckling his seatbelt. He pushed the door out of the way, then headed around the car to let Niall out.

With both of them out of the car and carrying their allocated backpacks again, Liam gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes while he thought. One thing was sure; he knew they had to get moving.

"Let’s follow along the road," he suggested, fingers brushing Niall’s to gain his attention.

"Okay," Niall barely whispered, pulling his hand from Liam’s reach and beginning to trek in the direction they had been driving.

Clenching his fists uncomfortably as his gut filled with regret, Liam walked close behind his charge. “Niall, about-“

"Please don’t talk about it," Niall cut in, voice sounding choked up.

"Okay," Liam agreed softly. He swore under his breath and hoped they weren’t too far from the next city.

 

Three or so hours of walking brought the two into a more inhabited area, the buildings growing in size and frequency. From the signage, Liam was able to locate the airport, which was their first port of call. They hailed a taxi to get there as neither of them were up for any more walking. Niall had kept his head down while Liam sorted flights for the next day, the earliest he could get.

"We might as well find somewhere to stay," Liam told the blonde as they exited the airport. "I think we both need some proper sleep."

Niall simply responded with a tired grunt, following Liam into a posh-looking building nearby.

Heading up to the front desk, Liam mustered up a weak smile for the clerk. “Do you have a room free for the night?” he asked politely.

The girl behind the desk raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down, then doing the same to Niall. Liam could understand why; both were covered in scrapes and bumps and their clothes were filthy and torn. “What is your price range?” the girl asked in her smooth French-accented English.

"Price isn’t an issue, we just need a room," Liam told her. He was struggling to hold onto his patience.

The girl raised both eyebrows to imply ‘if you say so’ before turning to her computer. “Would this be just one night?”

"Just tonight," Liam confirmed.

Scanning her screen, the girl smiled, “We have a vacancy.” Turning her eyes back to Liam, she informed him, “The only room available is the matrimonial suite.”

Without batting an eyelid, Liam questioned, “How much?” The girl gave a price. Digging in his backpack, Liam located his wallet and handed the large sum of money over to the clerk in cash.

Eyes wide and mouth slightly open, the girl accepted the payment and input their stay into the computer. She grabbed the key card from the desk, eyes wandering over the two again doubtfully.

"Rough day," Liam shrugged, giving the girl a half-smile when she handed him the key card. "Thank you," he said softly. He was sure he was beginning to show his vulnerability, but at this point he almost didn’t care. Turning to Niall, he gently ushered him towards the lift with a light hand in the small of his back.

As soon as the lift doors closed, Niall moved away from Liam’s touch, staring down at the floor. “Did we get a good room?” he asked quietly, trying to fill the silence.

"Reasonable," Liam nodded. They arrived on their floor and Liam let them into the room before clicking the door shut behind them.

"Oh…" Niall gasped softly. The room was wide, with an ornate, gold-coloured mantelpiece in the wall opposite a king-sized bed draped in reds and golds. There were a few pieces of plush furniture around the room, and the walls were painted a warm peach colour, except one which consisted only of glass. The massive window gave the most beautiful view of Paris either of them had ever seen.

"Niall," Liam spoke up gently, moving to stand behind the boy who had absently drifted to the window. "Go have a shower, you’ll feel better."

Niall looked over his shoulder at him and nodded. He paused, then asked, “Will you tell me what’s been done to me?”

Liam flinched at his words, but gently ushered the blonde towards the spacious bathroom attached to their room. “After we’ve both showered.”

Although he looked as though he wanted to protest, Niall stepped into the bathroom and slid the backpack from his shoulders. He began to undress, then paused and looked up at Liam, who was still standing in the doorway. “To save time, we could shower together,” he suggested with a nervous edge to his voice, but also tainted with something else.

 _'Hope?'_  Liam wondered. He was too tired to really care. “Okay.”

Five minutes saw both of them naked and Liam turning the water on in the shower. They stepped under the stream, Niall very carefully keeping his eyes away from Liam’s body.

"Never seen a naked man before?" Liam asked as he grabbed the complementary shampoo and handed it to the unmoving boy.

"Not really," Niall replied shyly. He stood so he was facing Liam’s back, steadying himself before pouring some shampoo in his hand and beginning to massage it into the brunette’s hair. Dragging his fingers across Liam’s scalp, Niall watched the man’s shoulders relax slightly. As he helped rinse the foam from Liam’s hair, he asked, "What’s happened to me, Liam?"

Liam gave a heavy sigh, turning around and taking the shampoo in his hands. “I suppose now’s as good a time as any.” Returning the favour of washing his hair, Liam circled his fingers against Niall’s scalp and began to explain. “Your mother specialises in bioelectronics. She also works with my agency in the line of electronic storage. Somehow, she’s decided that combining the two ideas is a good idea. So now, she’s been working on ways to replace bones in the human body with electronic storage devices.” Rinsing Niall’s hair, Liam continued, “Most often, she’s experimented with replacing spinal disks.” He gently turned Niall around, revealing a small, smooth metal plate between Niall’s shoulder blades. “Insulated to avoid electrocution during baths and showers, and in the spine so the subject doesn’t know or just can’t see it to worry about it often.” Liam traced his finger around the circular plate, just bigger than the pad of his thumb.

"She did that to me?" Niall whispered almost inaudibly.

"Yes."

Biting his lip, Niall asked, “Why’s it so bad?”

"Because I’ve never heard of a single time when extracting the information from the storage device hasn’t electrocuted the subject." Liam turned away from Niall’s back and started to scrub himself down with soap.

After both of them were clean, Liam was about to turn the water off when he felt Niall’s hands on his hips from behind him and his lips pressing against his shoulder. “Niall…?” The boy’s left hand slid slowly around his hip and across his stomach, creeping downwards. “Niall stop.” Liam spun around and quickly switched their places, holding Niall still by his hips. “There are rules, Niall.”

But Niall wasn’t giving up, grabbing Liam’s wrists and dragging the man’s hands over and down his stomach. As soon as he felt course hair with the tip of a finger, Liam snatched his hands back and quickly turned the water off.

"Niall, please stop." Liam stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, rubbing his face dry. Arms wrapped around his middle tightly, clinging to him. "Niall,  _stop_.”

"Why?" Niall whimpered, pressing his face into Liam’s back and holding him for dear life.

"I can’t, Niall." Moving Niall’s arms away, Liam turned and gripped his wrists in front of them. He looked into Niall’s begging eyes, closing his own with a deep sigh. "I… I just can’t." Dropping Niall’s wrists, Liam grabbed the towel he had dropped and a fluffy white robe before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm sorry for not updating this is ages. I have no internet at my new(ish) house, so I'm currently stealing my dad's.

Half an hour later, Liam had dried off and dressed himself in the robe, now sitting on the bed waiting for Niall to return. He was beginning to worry, so hopped up and opened the bathroom door to find Niall curled up on the floor, dried hair frizzed up, wrapped in his fuzzy robe, and fast asleep. “Niall,” he sighed, scooping the sleeping boy off the floor and into his arms. He laid the boy on one side of the bed, sitting on the other side and keeping watch.

The next thing Liam knew, Niall was shaking him awake and whispering, “You need to eat something, Liam.”

"Hmm?" Sitting up on the bed, Liam spotted a tray of food on the coffee table near the mantelpiece. His stomach growled as the smell of hot food reached his nose.

"We haven’t eaten in ages. I ordered room service," Niall explained. He slid off the bed and sat himself on the floor beside the table, glancing over at Liam to see if he was following.

Liam stretched and headed over, sitting beside Niall and grabbing a piece of bacon. “Food,” he hummed.

Both of them began eating quite quickly, but slowed down as their stomachs stopped aching.

"So, do we have any other clothes?" Niall piped up as they began to pick through the platter of cut fruit.

"Should be something in the pack you were carrying," Liam nodded. "They’re Louis’ clothes, but they should fit you."

Niall frowned a little. “Who’s Louis?”

"My partner," Liam replied, trying to suppress the nervous swirl in his stomach when he remembered he still wasn’t sure what had happened to his friend.

Niall’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth with both hands. “My god, I’m so sorry,” he rushed out. “Shit, I shouldn’t’ve done what I did in the bathroom, oh God-“

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Liam laughed. "Louis’ my  _work_  partner. There’s nothing going on there.” Shaking his head, Liam chuckled at the thought of dating Louis.

There was a short silence, then Niall asked softly, “Why’d you stop me?”

Liam sighed. “There’s rules. It’s like a police officer with a witness. I’m not allowed to.”

"Do you want to, though?" Niall whispered.

Liam didn’t answer, sticking to the rules.

Niall scooted a little closer. “Does that mean yes?”

"Niall, please," Liam sighed, rubbing his eyes. "No matter what it means, I can’t-"

"You can," Niall interrupted him.

Liam gave the boy a serious look. “I’d lose my job, Niall. My job’s all I’ve got. I can’t risk it.”

Lowering his eyes, Niall gave one small nod. He moved closer and laid his head in Liam’s lap, curling his body up and closing his eyes.

Watching Niall made Liam’s heart ache. He moved a hand to the boy’s hair, stroking his fingers through it gently. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

"Okay," Niall barely whispered back.

 xXx

As the two boarded their plane the next morning, Liam began to feel uneasy. Since losing their pursuers immediately after escaping the chateau, they hadn’t been found once. It all felt just a little too simple.

_'Or maybe you're getting paranoid because you have to sit next to Niall on the plane for an hour and you're thinking of anything except how nice it would be to just sit and cuddle with him the whole way.'_

Liam suppressed a huff at his thoughts, shaking his head as he found his seat. As he had predicted, Niall sat as close as he could to Liam’s side of his seat, resting his head on the brunette’s shoulder. “Is that okay?” Niall asked quietly, looking up to judge Liam’s reaction.

"It’s fine," Liam assured him, brushing Niall’s hair from his eyes. He felt that nervous swirl in his stomach again when he looked at Niall wearing Louis’ clothes. He blew out a breath and turned his head to watch people scurrying about outside the window.

"What’s wrong?" Niall asked, lightly squeezing Liam’s bicep.

"I keep wondering where Louis is," Liam admitted. "I didn’t see him when we left. I’ve got this awful gut feeling that something’s wrong. I couldn’t stay and look for him because you were my first priority."

Niall bit his lip. “He’ll be fine, though, right?”

"Dunno," Liam shrugged. "I just wanna finish this job. Get you back to base and probably never see you again. Go back to my lonely existence because it’s easier that way."

"Why’s it easier?" Niall asked.

"Because I know that if I die on a mission, there’s not gonna be anyone to cry when I’m gone. I don’t have to worry about having someone upset and hurting if something goes wrong."

Shaking his head slightly, Niall murmured, “I would’ve thought having someone to go home to would make you wanna fight harder to get back.”

"It used to be like that. But once you’ve lost your family because of it, you tend to change your mindset."

"Oh…" Niall slid his hand down Liam’s arm and threaded their fingers together. "I’m sorry."

"It’s not your fault," Liam sighed, shrugging he shoulder Niall’s wasn’t leaning on. He looked to the blonde to his left and ran his fingers through his locks, watching Niall close his eyes at the sensation.

"I’m completely gone on you, Liam," Niall said softly, eyes still closed. "I’m gonna miss you."

"If you survive long enough to," Liam whispered. He didn’t want Niall to die; not from the device in his spine, not from people with guns, not from a car crash… He was too sweet. He deserved to live.

"Will you be there when they…?" Niall shut his mouth. He didn’t want to think about it.

"Yeah," Liam murmured. "I’ll be there."

Shifting impossibly closer, Niall nodded his head against Liam’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

 xXx

Niall had drifted to sleep during their trip, but was woken by an announcement in French over the intercom. The English translation then played. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now making our descent into Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport, Bordeaux. Please fasten your safety belts, and we will touch down in approximately ten minutes.”

Within half an hour, they were leaving the plane and in the airport. Niall kept one hand firmly linked with Liam’s as the brunette led him through the masses of people.

"How are we getting there?" Niall asked, clinging to his backpack strap with the hand that wasn’t in Liam’s grasp.

"Hire car," Liam replied. He quickly found a suitable vehicle and paid the owner handsomely, then the two were driving away from the airport.

Niall sat twisting his fingers in his lap silently for the first ten minutes, then asked softly, “How long?”

"About twenty minutes," Liam replied as he turned a corner. "Why?"

"Just trying to work out how much time I have left." It was gentle, barely audible over the engine, but Liam heard. He didn’t know how to respond, so stayed tensely silent for the rest of the drive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre-warning: sad :(

As they passed through the security gates to the base, Liam reached over and squeezed Niall’s hand comfortingly. “The boss is gonna wanna talk to us straight up,” he murmured.

Niall’s eyes filled with tears and he nodded, obviously too choked up to speak.

"It’s okay," Liam whispered reassuringly. "It’s alright, Niall. Hold it together for me, ‘kay?"

Taking a deep breath and blowing it out shakily, Niall sniffed hard. “Okay,” he whispered.

Liam parked the car and hopped out, looking to the entrance to the building to find people waiting for them. He walked around to help Niall out, then started towards the people.

"Liam!"

It registered in Liam’s head who had flung their arms around him cheerfully, but the realisation didn’t make him as happy as he had thought it would. “Hey, Lou,” he greeted, patting Louis’ back twice, making him pull back.

"Didn’t think you got outta there, mate!" Louis was beaming. "Get the info?"

Liam bobbed his head once in a nod, turning to Niall and leading him with a hand in the small of his back towards his boss. “Sir,” he gritted through his teeth.

"Payne," the man responded with a nod. His face brightened when his eyes landed on Niall. "Maura Gallagher’s boy, eh?"

"Yes, sir," Niall confirmed quietly, eyes on his shoes.

"Right, let’s get to work then!" The man led them all inside, down corridors and into what looked like a lab. "Sit yourself down. I’ll fetch Dr Travis."

Liam watched Niall sit slowly on the examination table as his boss waddled out of the room. He wandered over and sat beside him, gently brushing his fingertips over the back of Niall’s hand on the table between them. “I’ll stay,” he whispered.

Niall didn’t respond.

"You would be Niall?" Dr Travis asked as she entered the room, followed by Liam’s boss.

"Yeah," Niall choked out.

"Right-o, then. Let’s get to work." Pulling on a pair of rubber gloves, Dr Travis instructed, "Shirt off, please."

So Niall sat shirtless on the examination table, turning so his back was to the wires and machinery for his device. He flinched at the sound of the plate being removed, bottom lip trembling as he glanced up at Liam.

"I have to warn you, Niall, this will probably hurt," Dr Travis explained. "And there is a chance that-"

"Just get on with in," Niall interrupted with a sniff. His eyes were glassy as he gazed up at Liam. "This is it, then," he whispered, closing his eyes at the clicking and plugging noises behind him.

"I guess so," Liam nodded.

A few tears crept down Niall’s face. “Can I kiss you?” he asked. His voice was so quiet Liam only knew what he said because he read his lips.

"Niall, I…"

Niall looked begging. “Please. Grant a boy’s dying wish.”

"Sir?" Liam asked, looking over to the man. "To what length can we go to grant last wishes?"

"Any," his boss replied. "But I don’t see… Oh…" The man’s eyes widened a little in realisation. "I hadn’t even thought-"

"Of course you hadn’t," Liam snapped. "He’s just another pawn in your game. You know what’s happened with every test of this stupid experiment." He turned back to Niall, holding the back of his blonde head with one hand. "You know what you said on the plane?" he asked.

"Yeah," Niall sniffled.

"Well, I think I’m pretty gone on you, too," Liam whispered, pressing their lips together. "I want to be able to come back to you," he breathed, joining their lips again. Niall gripped the front of Liam’s T-shirt to hold him in place, more tears sneaking out from the corners of his eyes.

"Why did you wait ‘til now?" Niall whimpered, their lips still touching.

"Rules. Habit. But I don’t give a fuck anymore." Lifting his free hand to stroke Niall’s cheek, Liam sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "Maybe she worked out the insulation problem," he muttered. "Maybe she found a way to-"

"Liam," Niall cut off in a whisper. He shook his head a little to signify that he didn’t want to discuss the impending procedure. "I wish we had the time to fall in love," he said softly, leaning his head on Liam’s shoulder.

"Me too." Running his fingers through Niall’s hair, Liam looked to Dr Travis, who gave him a sympathetic look.

"I’ll do my best," Dr Travis mouthed to him. "Niall," she spoke gently, "we should get started."

Niall’s grip on Liam’s shirt tightened. “Right now?”

"Right now."

Sniffling into Liam’s neck, Niall whimpered, “Ok-kay.” He sat up more and kissed Liam desperately.

Liam continued to press kisses to Niall’s lips once he broke away. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

"Me too," Niall nodded, teary-eyed.

Untangling them, Liam slid off the table as Dr Travis helped Niall to lie on his stomach. He looked at the insulated gloves Dr Travis held out to him in confusion. “What?”

"Put those on," the doctor instructed. "Best not to have you touching bare skin when I activate this." She patted her hand on the top of a black box connected to Niall by wires. Seeing Liam’s continued confusion, Dr Travis elaborated, "It’s so you can hold his hand."

Liam’s face crumpled a little, accepting the gloves and pulling a chair up beside the examination table. He took Niall’s hand, threading their fingers together. “I’ll be right here,” he told the blonde, combing his fingers through his hair.

"Thank you," Niall whispered.

"I’m going to count to three," Dr Travis informed them regretfully. "One."

Liam squeezed Niall’s hand.

"Two."

With a quiet sob, Niall lifted his eyes to meet Liam’s and gently squeezed back.

"Three."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd put this one up, too, and I might post one more because you guys have had to wait a while. I still don't have internet at home :(

Liam sat stone still in the cafeteria of the temporary base, red-rimmed eyes unmoving from the wall opposite him. He felt a presence beside him, choosing to ignore it.

"Liam?" Louis spoke up softly, gingerly touching his partner’s arm.

"He was screaming, Lou," Liam croaked, not moving his head. "He was screaming and I couldn’t do anything."

Louis wrapped his arm around Liam’s middle. “Is he going to be okay?”

"I don’t know," Liam sniffed, blinking rapidly a few times.

"You’ve been crying about this, haven’t you?" Louis asked gently, rubbing Liam’s back while his partner nodded. Liam had never been one to show emotions in tense situations, so his total lack of inhibition in admitting to crying was worrying Louis. "You can talk to me whenever you need, okay?"

Liam finally turned to him and wrapped his friend in a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered.

"God, Liam, this’s really screwed you up." Louis hugged Liam tightly, hooking his chin over Liam’s shoulder. "I’m here if you need me. Wake me up at four in the morning, I don’t care. If you need me, I’m right here for you, yeah?"

"Yeah," Liam choked out.

"Excuse me?"

Louis looked to the other side of the table, where an older blonde woman had sat down. “We’re kinda busy at the moment,” he told her a little harshly.

"I can see that, but I really need to talk to Liam Payne," the woman explained patiently.

Liam slowly pulled back from Louis, turning to face the woman. His eyes grew cold when he saw her. “Maura Gallagher,” he muttered.

"You’re not my biggest fan, as I understand," Maura sighed.

"He’s a big fan of your work, though," Louis replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Liam lowered his eyes to the table. “I’m a big fan of  _Niall_. Doesn’t mean I’m going to ever see him again.”

"See, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about," Maura told him, folding her arms on the table top. With a sigh, she began, "This isn’t going to be easy to explain, so please bear with me.

"I’m a biological engineer, specialised in bioelectronics. Most of my work is in data storage now, but I still enjoy bioengineering. I’ve been… experimenting with growing humans."

"Why?" was Louis’ first question.

Maura sighed. “I can’t have children. My husband and I tried for years, but we’ve come to the conclusion it’s just not possible. But we desperately wanted a child that was our own. So I’ve been working on engineering grown human beings from our sex cells.”

"Like the way doctors grow foetuses in Petri dishes?" Louis queried.

"Not quite, but similar." Looking to Liam, Maura explained, "Niall is the result of my experiments. He’s not nineteen, as he thinks he is. He’s really only three."

"Why did you start with a sixteen-year-old?" Louis asked in confusion.

"Because we didn’t want to deal with the puberty phase," Maura shrugged.

Liam slammed his fist down on the table and stood, looking over Maura angrily. “No! That is  _not_  what being a parent is about! You can’t just skip ahead. Being a parent as about helping your child through those experiences, no matter how much that means you have to ‘deal with’.” Liam glared furiously at the woman. “And another thing about being a parent is love. And compassion. And fucking  _care_. How could you  _use_  him like that? You put a fucking storage device in his spine when you  _knew_  there was every chance it would  _kill_  him!”

"I didn’t have any other choice," Maura defended, looking upset. "I didn’t want to use Niall, but it wasn’t me that performed the implant. Liam, I’ve worked out how to make that device work with zero damage to the person carrying it. But one of my colleagues was given ‘urgent information’, grabbed the nearest person, and shoved one of the faulty devices in him. His excuse was that I could ‘just make another one’." Blinking at tears, Maura told him with complete sincerity, "I would never have used Niall for that. Not even with one of the functional devices."

"So now, because some moron couldn’t wait and thought he was _expendable_ , Niall may well be lying dead in the infirmary,” Liam choked out, his own tears beginning to fall.

Maura covered her face with both hands and blew out a shaky breath. “I’ve never seen someone so attached to him before,” she said softly, looking up at the man still standing over her. “If he pulls through this, it’ll be because of your influence.”

Liam wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “How do you mean?” he sniffed.

"One person did actually survive the faulty device testing. We wanted to know why he specifically survived." Watching Liam, Maura told him, "He has a wife. She was seven months pregnant with their first child, at the time. He told us he kept fighting for her, even if it was just to see her once more."

"She made him want to fight harder to get back…" Liam slumped back into his seat, burying his face in his hands and beginning to sob.

"Li…" Louis moved his chair right up beside Liam’s and pulled him into another hug, holding him to his chest as he cried horribly into his hands.

 

It was a few days before anyone but Louis saw Liam. He trudged out of his room four days after they had returned, grabbing something small to eat from the cafeteria.

"Hey," Louis greeted gently as his friend sat beside him. "How’re you feeling?"

"I just wanna know how Niall is," Liam replied softly, staring down at the table.

The two sat in silence, slowly eating their food. After fifteen minutes, their boss entered the room. “Payne.”

Liam turned to him, a slight glare in his eyes. He was yet to forgive his boss for what had been done to Niall for ‘some lousy, useless information’.

"You’re wanted in the infirmary," his boss explained, opening the door to the corridor and holding it for Liam.

Eyes widening, Liam quickly got to his feet and hurried out of the room, rushing down the halls to the infirmary. He burst through the door, almost running into Dr Travis. “Niall?” he asked urgently.

"Calm down, Agent," Dr Travis said evenly. "Come this way." She led Liam to the far end of the room, where the curtain was drawn around the bed in the corner. "Please be considerate when you go in," Dr Travis suggested in a low voice. "Maura’s hardly left and has barely stopped crying the whole time she’s been here."

Liam nodded once and stepped through the curtain when Dr Travis held it open for him. The first thing he saw was Niall, a sickly grey colour, lying completely still on the bed. He was connected up to tubes and wires, his eyes closed. One of his hands was bandaged, Liam remembering that was the hand Dr Travis had got Niall to hold a metal pole with to ground the electricity. He shuddered thinking about it.

"Hello, Liam," Maura greeted softly from Niall’s left side. She was holding his non-bandaged hand, her face tired and eyes red-rimmed like Liam’s.

"Hey," Liam replied quietly. He sat himself on the chair to Niall’s right. "What do we know?" he asked.

"Not much." Maura gazed sadly at her son. "His hand has burns because it was the exit point, and around the plate on his back is burnt from entry. The electricity was so close to his spinal cord that we have no idea what it could have affected. We won’t know until he wakes up." Maura lowered her eyes. "If he wakes up."

"He will," Liam stated firmly.

"Liam-"

"He  _will_.” Taking a deep breath, Liam mumbled, “I need him to wake up.”

Maura nodded understandingly. “His heart and lungs seem relatively unaffected, which is greatly in his favour.”

"Dr Travis had to restart his heart after the extraction," Liam remembered, voice quiet. "It was horrible to watch."

"I’m sure."

Liam gently held Niall’s bandaged hand, lightly fitting their fingers together. “Hello,” he murmured to the blonde, using his free hand to stroke Niall’s hair. “I miss you. I’ve been waiting for you, Niall.”

"I’d hoped… that maybe Niall would be like the man who survived. Because he has something to come back to…" Maura sighed and shook her head, then stood. "I’ll be back in a minute."

"Okay." Liam kept his eyes on Niall’s face as Maura left them alone. "Please wake up," Liam whispered. "You mean so much to me, Niall. I need you to come back." The slow, steady beeping of Niall’s heart monitor was the only sound that followed. "Niall, please. Come back for me. Fight for me, beautiful, c’mon. I need to see your gorgeous eyes again."

Several minutes of silence passed, that steady beeping cutting through it at regular intervals.

With a heavy sigh, Liam fought back tears and leaned closer, pressing a kiss to Niall’s forehead. “You’ll be alright, I know you will. You have to be alright.”

"Payne," his boss spoke up from the curtains. "We’ve located the base of the group who tried to get their hands on Niall back at the chateau."

Liam moved his hand down to Niall’s cheek and kissed his lips softly, a tiny part of his hoping for a Disney moment. But when Niall remained unchanged, Liam gave him another kiss and whispered, “I’m coming back.” He stood up and carefully unhooked his fingers from Niall’s, giving the blonde one last look before heading over to his boss. “Where?”

"About five miles north of here. Do you want to-?"

"When can I leave?" Liam interrupted.

"Kit up. There’s a car waiting outside to get you and Tomlinson out ASAP."

Liam gave his boss a nod and headed out of the infirmary.


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you sure you’re up for this, Li?" Louis asked for the fifth time as they prepared themselves to break into the enemy base, backs against the outside wall of a warehouse.

"Louis, if you ask me that one more time, I’m gonna shove my boot so far up your arse you’ll taste it," Liam hissed angrily.

Louis raised his hands. “Okay, sorry.”

The two crept into the warehouse, running stealthily towards the back corner. They flattened themselves against a stack of crates and peeked around to where they had been told the entrance of the base was located. As expected, there was a man standing guard above a trapdoor.

"Dart," Liam whispered to his partner.

Louis pulled a gun of sorts from his belt, loading it with a tranquillising dart. With a steady aim and precision, he fired the weapon, sending the dart straight into the man’s neck. In just five seconds, the man dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Louis and Liam quickly dragged the guard off the trapdoor and pulled it open, Liam shining a light down the hole before descending the ladder inside.

It took them several minutes to reach the bottom, which was dark and echoed their footsteps. They shone their torches around, locating a door and preparing themselves to head through it. On a silent count of three, Louis pushed the door open and Liam stepped through it, pistol drawn.

Clear.

They trekked down the empty corridor they had found, ducking to avoid being seen through the windows of the several doors that lined the walls. Their objective was the door at the end, which had no window for them to scan the room behind it.

"On three," Liam barely whispered, hand on the doorknob. "One… two… three." He shoved the door open and Louis stepped through with gun raised.

"What on Earth?!"

Liam stepped in beside Louis, both of them pointing their weapons at a shocked-looking woman behind a desk. “I suggest you keep your voice down,” Liam told her calmly, closing the door with one hand and keeping his gun up with the other.

"Who are you?" the woman asked incredulously in a distinctly British accent.

"I’m someone very unhappy," Liam replied with an edge of anger in his voice.

The woman rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s unhappy. When we have a fair government, run by the people, we will all be happy.”

"That confirms who you are, then," Louis said airily.

The woman looked right at Louis, squinting a little as she studied him. “You’re the one that killed my brother at the chateau last week,” she realised, eyes widening. She stood and slammed her hands down on the desk. “How _dare_  you-?!”

"Enough!" Liam barked. He stepped right up to her and pressed the end of his pistol against the woman’s neck at such an angle that pulling the trigger would send a bullet straight through her head. "We’re shutting this base down," he explained with poorly-concealed anger. "And we’re taking you to our head agent. He’d like a word with you."

"You won’t get out of here alive," the woman smirked. She lifted a small device from her pocket. "None of us will."

Liam’s eyes widened. “Louis, run!”

Louis did as he was told, bolting from the room as the woman pressed the bottom on the top of the device.

An explosion like nothing Louis had ever experienced shook the base, his ears picking up the sounds of doors locking and more devices beeping. With Liam’s order in mind, he ran as fast as he could for the exit.

 

Liam dragged himself to sit up against the wall, coughing and peering through the smoke in the room. He could see blood splatters up the walls the woman had been standing near. Beginning to pull himself towards the door and away from the flames starting to engulf the room, he cringed at a sharp pain in his side. When he reached the door, he tried the handle.

Locked.

He hammered the fists against it, trying to find something on his belt that could get him out, but it was useless. The smoke in his eyes was making it too hard to see and his hands were shaking too much.

He only hoped Louis had run like he ordered.

Leaning against the door, Liam coughed harshly, his lungs protesting to the smoke and eyes watering at the heat.

This was it. There was no escaping this one.

He dug his emergency mobile phone from his pocket and hit the call button.

"Payne?" his boss’ voice crackled through the speaker.

"I’m stuck, sir," Liam rasped, coughing again. "Stuck in a burning room. I-" Cough. "I wanted to…" He took a deep breath, trying desperately to find some oxygen through the smoke.

"Payne, there’s someone who wants a word," his boss told him, then Liam heard the sound of the phone changing hands.

"Liam?"

The voice was weak and tired-sounding but it was all Liam wanted to hear. “Niall,” Liam choked.

"Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I… I’m…" Liam couldn’t bear to tell him.

"Liam?" Niall sounded lost, a little dizzy, which was incidentally how Liam was feeling from lack of oxygen. "You said you were coming back. Where are you?"

Liam couldn’t even think at that moment, let alone respond.

"Liam?" Niall’s voice held an edge of panic.

With a look of determination, Liam hung up. He abandoned the phone on the floor and dragged himself to his feet. Mustering up all his strength, the rammed himself against the door. He did it again, the door creaking in protest. The third time, he heard a cracking sound. One last slam and the door broke open, Liam jumping through only to find the whole hallway in the same state as the office.

"Got to get back to Niall," he whispered to himself, running as fast and with as much coordination as he could down the corridor. The door at the end was open, which Liam hoped was Louis’ doing. He was gasping for air that didn’t exist, head spinning and lungs screaming. "Niall," he reminded himself as he stared up at the imposing ladder.

Grasping the first rung, Liam began to haul himself upwards with shaky limbs in what he knew was going to be one hell of a climb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, I'll leave that for now :) I'll hopefully have proper internet soon, so I won't have to walk half an hour for free wifi :)


	8. Chapter 8

Louis was sat outside the warehouse, watching the smoke billowing out through the doors and high windows from a good fifty metres away. He had just received a call from the boss about Liam. He didn’t know what to think anymore.

"Tommo," Matthews, the driver, spoke up behind him. "Maybe we should go."

"Fuck that," Louis replied, voice wavering and taking away any anger his statement should have held. He blew out a breath and hung his head. "Just give me some time, ‘kay, Matthews?"

"Right-o," Matthews sighed, sitting on the bonnet of the car again.

"He can’t be gone," Louis whispered to himself. "C’mon, Liam." He looked up at the warehouse. "We’ve been partners since we started. You can’t give up on me now."

Suddenly, Louis saw a movement at the warehouse door. An arm reached outside, clawing at the ground and weakly dragging the rest of the body a bit further out.

"Liam?" Louis breathed, jumping up and running closer. "Liam!"

The filthy form ever-so-slightly lifted its head.

"Liam!" Louis grabbed his friend and dragged him out into the fresh air, Liam coughing harshly and whimpering in pain. "Holy shit…"

It took a good few minutes before Liam stopped coughing and started gulping down fresh air, his chest heaving. There were significant tear-tracks down his sooty face from his eyes watering and he held his side weakly. “Lou,” he croaked.

"C’mon, let’s get you back. Matthews, quick!" Louis called out. The driver rushed over and helped him haul Liam into the back of the car before they spend away.

 xXx

Liam watched as people rushed around him in the infirmary, pumping him with oxygen and water and tending to his sore side. It all settled down fairly quickly, Dr Travis stepping up to his bedside.

"You’re incredibly determined, Agent Payne," she told him with a slight smile. "You should be fine by tomorrow. How you didn’t get carbon monoxide poisoning I’ll never know."

"I feel pretty good, considering," Liam rasped, cringing.

"Try not to talk too much. Your throat will probably be swollen for a day of so, but that’s normal after what’s just happened to you."

Liam nodded his head once.

"Mind you, you’re also undernourished," Dr Travis told him with a motherly look. "You better start eating properly again."

Lifting one arm, Liam saluted the doctor with a playful, sleepy smile.

"You get some rest," Dr Travis chuckled, closing he curtains around him.

"Wait," Liam croaked.

Dr Travis ducked her head back through the curtain. “Yes?”

"Niall…?"

With a smile, Dr Travis assured him, “He should be fine. He was only awake for ten minutes including your phone call, and he’s been out since. His body does have a lot of repairing to do. And so does yours, so go to sleep,” she instructed, leaving him again.

Liam closed his eyes, comforted by the knowledge that Niall was okay.

 xXx

The next afternoon, Liam’s throat was feeling better and he was allowed to get up out of bed. He wasn’t fixed, not by a long way, but he was on the road to recovery.

"Good to see you up and about again, Liam," Maura smiled as Liam slipped past the curtain around Niall’s bed.

"It’s good to be out of that bed," Liam whispered as loud as he could. It was easier on his throat to not actually talk.

"Someone else will be glad to know you’re alright, too," Maura smiled, pointing to Niall. "He was terrified when the line went dead yesterday. They had to sedate him, which is why he’s still asleep now."

Liam sat himself beside Niall’s bed, threading their fingers together again. He was mindful of the bandages as he gently squeezed Niall’s fingers. “I came back,” he whispered, kissing Niall’s temple. “Just like I said.” He hadn’t been expecting a response, when Niall’s fingers twitched.

Drawing in a deep breath, Niall sighed heavily through his nose, shifting his head a little before opening his eyes. He made a sleepy noise, taking his left hand from Maura’s loose grasp to rub his eyes before looking up at her. “Ma.”

"Morning, sweetheart," Maura smiled, touching his cheek lightly. "How do you feel?"

"Liam?" Niall asked instead.

"Right here," Liam whispered in the blonde’s ear, making him turn his head quickly.

A smile spread across Niall’s face. “Liam!” He grabbed the back of Liam’s head and kissed him.

Although he was definitely enjoying Niall’s kissing, Liam had to pull back so he could breathe. He turned his head and coughed a few times, taking a few slow, deep breaths before looking to back Niall. The blonde had a small frown on his face. “I can’t breathe properly at the moment,” Liam explained in his whisper.

"Why?" Niall asked in concern.

"Smoke inhalation," Liam croaked, coughing again. Maura handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully accepted.

Gently squeezing Liam’s hand, Niall remembered, “The burning room…”

"Yeah." Sitting the glass aside, Liam leaned down to whisper softly in Niall’s ear, "I had something to come back to."

Niall grinned and softly pecked Liam’s lips. “Just smoke inhalation, or did you get hurt?” he asked, toying with Liam’s hair.

"I’ve got a couple of cracked ribs," Liam shrugged. "I just have to be careful with them for a week or so."

"No other damage?"

"Nope."

A cheeky grin worked its way onto Niall’s face. “Good.” He laughed slightly as he pressed their lips together again.

"There’s the smile I fell for at the chateau," Liam breathed, stealing another kiss.

"Payne."

Liam reluctantly pulled away from Niall’s mouth, looking up to see his boss standing just inside the curtains. “Sir?”

"Good work yesterday. We might not have anyone to interrogate, but in blowing themselves up, the terrorists dealt with themselves." With the slightest of smiles, the boss added, "And this," gesturing to Niall and Liam, "is completely off the record."

Liam blew out a relieved breath. “Thank you, sir.”

"Well, after yesterday, it would hardly be fair to take this away from you." Giving each of them a nod, the man left again.

"You’re not in trouble for us?" Niall checked with Liam.

"Nope," Liam grinned.


	9. Chapter 9

A week later, Niall was allowed to leave. Liam drove him away from the base and towards the airport, Maura meeting them there with a bag of Niall’s things.

Niall had no idea where they were going, but once they had landed again and were hopping into a posh black car, he thought he may have an inkling.

"Where’re we going?" he asked as Liam drove them away from Heathrow.

Taking Niall’s hand with his left and driving with his right, Liam replied, “You’ll see.” After a moment’s though, he spoke up again. “I asked your mum about whether you being genetically engineered made you any different to the average human, and she said the only difference is that you probably have greater stamina.”

Niall snorted and giggled into his hand. “I see.”

It was just half an hour later that they pulled up outside a beautiful house in the middle of the countryside. The building bordered on mansion status, but wasn’t big enough to quite be so. “Wow…” Niall whispered as he stepped out of the car.

Wrapping his arms around Niall’s middle from behind, Liam perched his chin on the blonde’s shoulder and murmured, “Welcome home.”

Niall turned to his with wide eyes. “Really?” he squeaked excitedly.

"Yes, really," Liam grinned, laughing as Niall spun around and kissed him. "I get paid well for what I do." He led Niall up to the front door, unlocking and pushing it open. Before Niall could step inside, Liam scooped him up bridal-style and kissed him when he giggled. "It’s customary to carry the person you love over the threshold," Liam explained, carrying Niall inside.

"You love me?" Niall asked, biting his lip and trying to hide a smile.

"You bet I do," Liam chuckled.

Niall manoeuvred himself so he had his legs wrapped around Liam’s waist with the brunette holding him up. “I love you, too,” he whispered, leaning their foreheads together.

"Then allow me to show you around," Liam smirked. "Maybe we should start with the bedroom."

Niall grinned. “Sounds like a fantastic idea.”


	10. Epilogue

Niall had been waiting three days for Liam to return from his latest mission. He chewed his fingernails, bit his lips, and jumped at every small noise in the house. But along with all that, there were tears sitting behind his eyes, waiting for that dreadful phone call.

Liam had never been three days late before.

Niall had to stop cutting onions in the kitchen to lean against the bench, taking deep breaths and sniffling. “He’ll be fine,” he whispered to himself. “He’s always fine.”

The doorbell rang through the house, Niall’s stomach knotting.

Liam had a key; he wouldn’t ring the doorbell.

Blowing out a breath to compose himself, Niall headed for the door. He paused with his hand just above the doorknob, then pulled the door open. Behind it stood a man he hadn’t seen in a good year and a half. “Sir?”

"Afternoon, Mr Horan," greeted Liam’s boss.

"Afternoon, sir." Niall swallowed hard, shifting his weight to his other foot. "Sir, where is Liam?"

The round man at the door gave him a smile. “I gave him a lift. He can’t drive at the moment.” He stepped aside to reveal Liam balanced on a pair of crutches.

"Liam!" Niall hurried over to Liam and flung his arms around the brunette’s neck, kissing him with everything he had. "Liam, Liam, Liam, Liam, Liam." Sniffling, he asked, "Why didn’t you call me to tell me you’re okay?"

"All communications went out around the base," Liam explained, wrapping one arm around him.

"I was starting to think you weren’t coming back," Niall choked out, burying his face in the crook of Liam’s neck.

"Oh, babe," Liam cooed, kissing Niall’s hair as the blonde hiccupped. "I’m okay, love."

"How long for, this time?" Niall mumbled, still holding his tears.

"Forever."

Niall lifted his head. “What?”

"Agent Payne has served with us for ten years, Mr Horan. When our agents do fieldwork for ten years, they’re let go," Liam’s boss explained.

"Why?" Niall asked.

"Fieldwork puts a lot of strain on agents. After ten years of it, we no longer allow them on missions. Agent Payne will be asked back for various training and consultation sessions, but for the most part, his time with us is at its end."

"You’re back for good?" Niall asked Liam, unable to hide the hope in his eyes.

"Back for good," Liam confirmed, smiling when Niall wrapped himself around him again. "Thank you, sir."

"No trouble," his boss assured him. "I’ll be off, but I’ll see you later, Payne."

"Yes, sir."

The round little man, who had only grown larger over the year and a half, waddled off towards a second car in the driveway, sending the couple a wave before driving off.

Looking down at Niall, who was clinging to him for dear life, Liam murmured, “I’m back.”

"I know." Niall pulled back and showed Liam the tears trailing down his cheeks. "I’ve never been so fucking happy."

"Let’s go inside, hey?" Liam smiled.

Niall led the brunette inside and half-dragged him up the stairs. Once in their bedroom, he helped Liam onto the bed, careful of the cast around his ankle. “How did you do that?” he asked as he leaned Liam’s crutches beside the bed and sat his backpack on the floor.

Liam sighed as Niall sat next to his legs. “Of all things, of all the mental things that could have happened, you know what I did?” Niall shook his head. “I tripped and twisted it.”

Snorting, Niall bit his lip to keep from laughing. “You tripped?” he giggled.

"Of all things!" Liam threw his hands up, then huffed and shook his head. "I’ve been shot, I’ve been stabbed, I’ve been poisoned, I’ve been in car-chases and explosions and prison cells. I’ve fallen in love. And what’s the last injury of my career? A broken ankle because I tripped."

Niall laughed and leaned forward to kiss him. “Falling in love surely wasn’t that tragic.”

"It was at the time," Liam pointed out. "I fell for a guy who, as far as I was aware, was going to die."

"Even better is the fact that you weren’t allowed to fall in love with the dead man-walking," Niall chuckled, kissing him again.

"Well, I don’t have those rules anymore," Liam smiled.

Niall thought for a moment. “Hold on, ten years of service?”

"Yep," Liam nodded.

"You’re only twenty six. Are you telling me that you’ve been doing all that since you were sixteen?" Niall asked incredulously.

Shrugging one shoulder, Liam explained, “My dad was in the secret service. He died when I was fifteen, and they straight away started training me up. They wanted to keep it in the family, plus I’d been there when Dad was killed; they couldn’t lie to me about why it happened.”

Niall scooted closer and wrapped his arms around Liam’s middle, resting his head on the brunette’s shoulder. “That’s why you didn’t believe in having someone to come home to,” he whispered.

"No, I didn’t believe in that because the year after I’d started working, my mum and sisters were murdered in our family home," Liam sighed. He rubbed his hand up and down Niall’s back absently. "I didn’t want anyone to get close enough to be put in danger."

Niall nuzzled his face into Liam’s neck. “Oh, Li.”

They held each other in silence for a while, Liam running his fingers through Niall’s hair soothingly. He suddenly sat up a little more. “Can you hear that?” he whispered.

Lifting his head, Niall squinted his eyes as he listened hard, then opened them wide. “Beeping…”

"Backpack!" Liam pointed and Niall grabbed the offending object. "Window, now!"

Niall ran to the window and shoved it open before hurling the backpack outside, jumping when it exploded in a ball of fire. “Oh my god…” His hands were shaking, eyes open wide and body frozen.

"Niall… Niall, love, come here," Liam instructed calmly, reaching his arms for him.

Turning shakily, Niall slowly walked over to Liam, then collapsed in his arms. “Oh God…”

"Ssh, ssh," Liam cooed, stroking Niall’s hair. "It’s alright."

"Guess the job never really leaves you," Niall whispered, face pressed into Liam’s chest.

"Guess not," Liam half-laughed.

Curling his fingers tightly in Liam’s T-shirt, Niall could feel Liam’s hand in his hair trembling slightly. “I think we need a bomb screen at the front door,” he breathed out, reaching up and tangling his fingers with Liam’s.

Liam chuckled and kissed Niall’s hair. “I think that can be arranged.”

Sitting up and taking several deep breaths, Niall met Liam’s eyes. “I think… think I’m okay now.”

There was a loud bang and the sound of a round of bullets being fired outside the house. Niall threw himself at Liam and clung to him for dear life.

"No I’m not," he squeaked.

"Payne!" they heard yelled from outside.

Liam frowned, carefully pulling himself off the bed. “No, no, Liam, don’t,” Niall begged, fingers twisted in Liam’s T-shirt.

"Hang on one second, love," Liam murmured, carefully unhooking Niall’s fingers before limping over to the window.

"There you are!" called the man standing out the front of the house, a gun slung over his shoulder.

"Louis, you fucking prick," Liam called back with a slight laugh. He heard a noise behind him, turning to find Niall gone. A few seconds later, he saw Niall bursting out of the house and charging at Louis.

"What-?" Louis started, eyes wide.

Niall ran up to Louis and punched him hard in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. “Fuck you!” he screamed.

"Okay, not funny," Louis decided, raising his hands in surrender.

"No, it fucking wasn’t!" Niall screeched.

"Sorry, I didn’t think-"

"Obviously!"

By this point, Liam had quickly hobbled down the stairs and out to Niall, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him in to his chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’ve got you,” Liam murmured, rubbing Niall’s back. “It’s all over now.”

Niall just sobbed, clinging to Liam like there was nothing else on earth.

"Okay… sorry?" Louis stood back up, holding his jaw. "Um…"

"No one could let him know I was alright the past few days," Liam explained to his friend, kissing the side of Niall’s head. "I just got back."

Louis’ eyes widened in comprehension. “Ah…”

"It’s okay, love, it’s okay," Liam cooed, rocking them gently from side to side. "That’s something kinda traditional that all our fieldworkers do when we get let go."

"Fucked up tradition," Niall hiccupped, burying his face in Liam’s neck.

"Not great for situations like this, no," Liam agreed. He looked to Louis, who came over to them still clutching his jaw. "Lemme look?"

Moving his hand to show Liam the bruise already blooming, Louis carefully patted Niall’s back. “Bloody good punch, there, mate.”

"I live with Liam and you think I wouldn’t have a good punch?" Niall sniffed, slowly pulling back to look at Louis.

"No, good point," Louis chuckled. He rubbed Niall’s shoulder. "Sorry."

Niall closed his eyes and blew out a sharp breath, counting to ten as he breathed in and out again. “I forgive you.” Looking at Louis seriously, Niall warned, “But I you ever do it again, I’ll do more than punch you.”

"Damn straight," Liam smiled, kissing Niall’s forehead.

Taking a moment to pull himself together, Niall stepped back a bit from Liam. “Since you’re here, Lou, you might as well stay for dinner.” He wrapped an arm around Liam’s waist. “I was starting on dinner when you arrived,” he explained, gently leaning against the brunette.

"Real food?" Louis laughed breathlessly. "I’m up for that."

"Good," Liam chuckled, stroking the back of Niall’s head. "My Nialler only cooks real food." He ducked his head and lightly kissed Niall’s lips. "We have a new cook on base," he explained to Niall, who looked confused.

"Let’s just say we should be changing his job title, because that man can  _not_ cook,” Louis stated, unslinging his gun from his shoulder.

"Hey, we don’t have to be there much anymore," Liam reminded his friend.

"True."

After a moment, Niall asked, “Are we going inside then…?”

"Yes," Liam chuckled, turning to limp his way up to the front door on his crutches.

 xXx

Louis left a couple of hours after dinner, allowing Niall to help Liam back upstairs to their bedroom. “Right,” he sighed, watching the brunette sit himself on the edge of the mattress.

"C’mon, love, bedtime," Liam chuckled, pulling off the one boot he had been wearing.

Niall nodded and stripped to his boxers, helping Liam out of his cargo pants before climbing into bed. “It’s so nice to have you home,” he whispered, cuddling up to Liam’s side.

"It’s nice to  _be_  home,” Liam chuckled, stroking Niall’s hair. “I missed you when I went on missions.”

"But you always had someone to come back to," Niall smiled, tracing the tattoo of his last name on Liam’s bicep.

"That I did," Liam agreed.

Niall pressed his lips to the tattoo on Liam’s bicep. “I wanted to welcome you home properly, but I don’t wanna move.”

"You still can," Liam smiled. "If you want to."

"Mm hmm."

Liam shuffled them so they were facing each other on their sides. “Let’s get you out of these,” he murmured, sliding Niall’s boxers down his legs.

Kicking his boxers off the rest of the way, Niall hooked one leg over Liam’s hips. “Welcome back, Liam,” Niall baby-talked against Liam’s jaw. “Missed you lots.”

"Missed you, too," Liam whispered, lifting off the bed just enough to pull Niall’s other leg around his hips. He grabbed the lube from the bedside table, slicking up three fingers before taking them down Niall’s back. "Here we go, love." Slowly pushing one finger into the blonde, Liam pressed a kiss to Niall’s forehead.

Niall angled his hips just right to allow Liam’s fingers right in, the brunette quickly adding the other two before steadily thrusting them in and out. “Just a bit…” Niall muttered, eyes closed and brow slightly furrowed. “Just…” A loud moan suddenly left him, his arms wrapping tightly around Liam’s neck. “Yeah… there…”

Liam smiled and massaged Niall’s prostate with his fingertips for a few minutes until he could feel a sticky wetness on his stomach. “Feel good?” Liam asked lowly, pressing a little harder.

Niall whimpered, his hips twitching back. “Yes…”

"Good." Liam drew his fingers out and located the lube again, smiling at Niall panting against his shoulder. He tugged his own boxers down and coated his cock with lube before pulling Niall closer. "Ready, babe?" Niall nodded quickly. "Okay."

Niall pressed his forehead against Liam’s shoulder as he focussed his attention on the brunette’s cock pressing up inside him. A soft moan fell from his lips when Liam bottomed out.

"Missed you so much," Liam mumbled into Niall’s hair.

Rolling his hips, Niall turned his head to kiss at Liam’s neck. “Missed you, too.”

Liam took this as a sign to move, slowly rocking his hips and finding Niall’s favourite spot. He held the blonde tighter when he gave a breathy moan, making sure to hit his prostate every time.

Neither of them tried to rush, exchanging soft touches and shoulder kisses. Liam brushed his fingers up Niall’s back to lightly circle the round metal plate near the top of Niall’s spine, the blonde pushing closer to his body.

Tipping his head up, Niall caught Liam’s lips in a kiss, moaning quietly at the touch and pressing closer. One of his hands moved to grasp Liam’s hair, little gasps and grunts escaping their kiss.

"Do you need more?" Liam breathed heavily against Niall’s lips, his movements becoming more laboured.

Niall shook his head a little. “Almost there…” He gasped and squeezed his eyes shut. “Almost…a-almost…”

Purposefully jerking his hips up harder, Liam groaned as Niall came, losing himself in his own orgasm as the blonde shuddered and clenched around him. “Niall…” he moaned against his lover’s neck.

Once they both touched back down to Earth, they lay panting for a moment. Niall shifted his hips to let Liam slide out of him, them cuddled as close as physically possible. “Love you,” he whispered.

"Love you, too, sweetheart," Liam murmured sleepily, burying his face in Niall’s hair.

Niall rubbed his thumb against Liam’s chest. “Let me know when you’re ready for another round,” he smiled, earning a tired laugh from Liam.

"You and your god damn stamina," Liam chuckled, yawning. "I’ll be ready for more in the morning. Maybe a few rounds, if you’re lucky."


End file.
